Anionic surfactants containing sulfate or sulfonate functional groups have been used in shampoo formulations for a number of years because of their excellent ability to clean the hair. One disadvantage of the use of such surfactants is that they tend to irritate the eyes. In the Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, Vol. 28, pages 667-679 (Nov., 1977), entitled: "Reduction of topical irritation," Goldemberg et al. note that various compounds such as amphoteric surfactants like fatty alkyl betaine surfactants have been combined with surfactants such as lauryl sulfates to reduce the ocular irritancy of the harsh lauryl sulfate surfactants. Various other types of surfactants such as fatty alkyl alkanolamides have also been employed to reduce the ocular irritancy of sulfate surfactants. As a result, combinations of various surfactants have been employed to reduce the ocular irritancy of the major anionic surfactant present for the purpose of cleaning the hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,944,663 to Weiss et al. teaches mild light duty detergents containing homopolymers of ethylene oxide. Weiss et al. teaches that from about 0.01 to 5% by weight of a homopolymer of ethylene oxide of molecular weight between about 1.times.10.sup.5 and 4.times.10.sup.6 can be employed in detergent compositions including an anionic surfactant having skin irritating characteristics such as a C.sub.8 -C.sub.18 alkyl benzene sulfonate or a C.sub.8 -C.sub.18 alkyl sulfate containing from 0 to 3 ethyleneoxy units per molecule to reduce the skin irritation of the hands by a light duty liquid or powder detergent formulation containing from 10 to 35% by weight of such irritating anionic surfactants. Weiss et al. suggests nothing concerning the effect such high molecular weight ethylene oxide homopolymers might have upon the ocular irritancy of such anionic surfactants.
In a Journal article entitled "Relationship Between The Primary Dermal Irritation Index and Ocular Irritation," Gilman et al., J. Toxicol.-Cut. & Ocular Toxicol., 2(2 and 3), 107-117 (1983), Gilman et al. provide data to show that high dermal irritation potential of compounds does not necessarily suggest that these compounds will also exhibit high ocular irritation. In this paper, Gilman et al. argue very strongly that due to the different histologies of the skin and eye, it is not necessarily obvious that a compound which exhibits a high dermal irritation potential will also exhibit high ocular irritancy. Gilman et al. note that a number of compounds which irritate the skin result in little to very low ocular irritation. Gilman et al. further note a paper by Seabaugh et al. entitled "Detergent toxicity survey", Am. J. Pub. Health, 67(4):367, 1977, as showing that certain products such as automatic dishwasher detergents and all purpose cleaners and laundry detergents could exhibit moderate to severe eye irritation and still possess negative dermal irritation indices. After reviewing the data, Gilman et al. conclude that one must test compounds for both dermal and ocular irritancy and one cannot simply assume that because dermal irritancy exists, ocular irritancy necessarily follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,788 to Rankin teaches an ophthalmic solution for use as a wetting agent for the eye that is an aqueous solution of from about 0.05 to about 2 weight percent of an ethylene oxide polymer having a molecular weight of at least 100,000 to act as an eye lubricant and a thickening agent. These polymers are said to have a low level of oral toxicity and an extreme level of compatibility in contact with the skin or in the eye. A humectant can also be included such as a polyalkylene glycol of molecular weight up to about 6,000. Furthermore, the solution can contain an ophthalmic medicament, particularly those requiring an acid pH, or a nonionic surfactant. This patent does not suggest using high molecular weight homopolymers of ethylene oxide to reduce the eye irritation of otherwise eye irritating anionic surfactants.
BASF Corporation Chemicals Division has reported that 3% of certain of their PLURONIC.sup.R Surfactants, which are block copolymers of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide, were found to reduce the Draize eye irritancy scores of compositions containing 12% of anionic surfactants such as sodium laureth-3 sulfate. However, this fails to suggest that the same would be true for small amounts of ethylene oxide homopolymers.